Harry's Last Words
by spd3432
Summary: Harry's last words to the wizarding public as he prepares for his execution for killing Voldemore.


Disclaimer -- I own nothing. JKRowling owns it all except the final spell used on Voldemort. I stole it from the author Aerie22

Harry's Last Words

August 11, 2001 - The room was cold, with black walls and stone benches in place of seats. The tiered benches were filled with the members of the wizengamot, the international press, and anyone else who had enough political pull or spare galleons to be able to gain an entrance. A raised dias held a stone arch with a veil moving as if in a breeze. At the base of the steps leading to the dias was the battle weary form of Harry Potter - the Boy-Who-Lived, the Defeater-Of-You-Know-Who, handcuffed like a common criminal. Standing next to him was the corpulent form of Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge with his two assistants Dolores Umbridge and Percival Weasley.

The Minister raised his hand silently calling for quiet. "Harry James Potter, you have been found guilty of the use of the unforgivable curses. With the destruction of Azkaban and the dementors, you have been sentenced to death by means of passing through the veil, forfeiture of all lands, properties, and monies. Such sentence to be carried out this day. Do you have any last words?"

"Yes, Minister. I have a number of things to say. Might I have a chair and a small table with some water and a projection pensieve as I tell my story?" Harry asked. "I will also need the box that Griphook has with him - you may check it if you like, it contains only memory vials and a single sheet of parchment. I give my word I will not use those items as weapons against anyone in this room nor to use them in an attempt to escape."

"I don't believe..."

Percy quickly interrupted Minister Fudge and whispered to him "Sir, it's in the laws handed down from Merlin. We cannot deny this."

"Auror Dawlish, conjure him a chair to sit on and have someone bring him a table, some water, and the pensieve."

Griphook brought a small wooden box down and set it on the table. While Harry was waiting he thought back to how he came to be in this position.

oxoxoxoxo

It had been a long four years since Dumbledore's funeral. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had traveled for a year searching out Voldemort's horcruxes before they were joined by Ginny when Hogwarts closed its doors during her sixth year following an attack on Hogsmeade that resulted in the destruction of most of the dementors and over 95 of the villages population. Minister Scrimgeour was killed when he apparated in with a squad of aurors trying to launch a counter-attack. Fudge regained his old position as Minister for Magic a week later.

When preparing to recast the Fidelius on Grimmauld Place following Bill and Fleur's wedding, they found Slytherin's locket where Regulus had left it. Hermione began heavy reading through the Black library searching for a means to destroy a horcrux while Ron and he had begun an exhaustive training program with assistance from Moody, Tonks, and Shacklebolt. Hermione found a book that contained the spells used to create and destroy dementors. After many conversations with Dumbledore's portrait, Hermione created a charm that could be used to check for the presence of a horcrux in an object. Dumbledore's portrait convinced them the best way to destroy both Voldemort and the horcruxes would be for Harry to use the killing curse.

During those years of travel there were a number of skirmishes that saw the deaths of Severus Snape as well as the Lestranges, Malfoys, and Notts. The Notts fell in the Fall of 1996 when the trio found them in Albania watching the location where Hufflepuff's cup was hidden. In the Spring of 1997, Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy were killed by Hermione when they appeared outside Malfoy Manor's anti-apparition wards. Lucius, Narcissa, and Rabastan Lestrange came outside when an alarm sounded. Narcissa was killed as soon as she went past the wards. The battles between Harry and Lucius and Ron and Rabastan lasted for nearly 30 minutes each before the death eaters were struck down.

Rodolphus Lestrange was cornered and killed by the Order in Knockturn Alley with Fenrir Greyback and the Carrows. In the Fall of 1998, while searching the orphanage Voldemort had grown up in, Harry and Ginny were ambushed by Bellatrix and four other death eaters. Harry hit Bellatrix with a stunner that blasted her through a wall, impaling her on a tree limb. Ravenclaw's glasses were found in a booby-trapped hollow in the orphanage's foundation.

After many dead-ends, the foursome made a trip back to Hogwarts and down into the Chamber of Secrets in the Spring of 1999. Hidden in the basilisks lair was Godric Gryffindor's cloak clasp. Harry destroyed the clasp, the fifth horcrux, leaving only Nagini and Voldemort. Before leaving the castle, they made one last trip to visit Dumbledore's portrait. When they arrived in the headmaster's office, Harry cast silencing charms on all the portraits except Dumbledore's then explained where they were in completing their tasks and ending the war. Dumbledore told Hermione to take a book off one of the shelves.

"Prophecies of the Founders?" she asked.

"Yes, open it to the page marked with a gold ribbon. I'm not sure if it applies or not, but you should be aware of the prophecy written on that page since it might make a difference in your future actions. That book has been passed from headmaster to headmaster since the time of the founders. The prophecy I marked was given by Rowena Ravenclaw and heard by Godric Gryffindor" Albus replied.

'In a time of great evil, the line of the eagle will join with the line of the lion. As the heir of the lion ends the line of the snake, the heir of the badger will make his move and the heir of the lion will pass beyond the veil. Ten years shall elapse before the heir of the lion returns as if from the dead to reclaim his birthright.'

Albus continued "Harry, as you know, Tom is the last descendent of Slytherin - the heir of the snake. You are the last direct descendent of Gryffindor - the heir of the lion. Cornelius Fudge is the last remaining descendent of Helga Hufflepuff - the heir of the badger. Ravenclaw's line disappeared some years ago."

Harry responded, "No, it didn't. After the Dursley's were killed, I was able to obtain some family records. My maternal grandmother was found in London following a bombing in 1942. I went through an inheritance ritual last year at Gringott's. I'm descended from Ravenclaw through my mother."

Thanks to Arthur Weasley's muggle obsession, Ron and Ginny had muggle birth certificates thus enabling both couples to secretly wed in muggle civil ceremonies on Ginny's 18th birthday - August 11, 1999. Halloween 1999 brought a massive death eater attack on Diagon Alley. Fred and George were killed when Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was destroyed. Christmas 1999 brought the destruction of the Burrow with Molly and Arthur going into hiding on Black's Island. Ginny joined her parents on the island and gave birth to twin boys - James Albus and Sirius Arthur on May 5th 2000.

oxoxoxoxo

Over dinner at Grimmauld Place a week before Harry's 21st birthday, Remus and Tonks informed them that Nagini had been killed earlier that day. The horcrux detection charm was cast both before and after the death of the snake. She had been a horcrux and it was detroyed on her death. After much discussion, it was finally decided that Ron and Hermione along with Ginny and the Potter twins should move permanently to Black's Island. This was the only way to keep them out of the hands of Fudge and his cronies.

On his 21st birthday, Harry went to Gringott's and spent several hours with Ragnok - the head of Gringott's London and the nominal head of the goblin nation and Griphook the Potter's family banker. He left a number of selected memories with Griphook and had the goblins begin sealing his properties.

With Voldemort's forces dwindling and Nagini missing, Voldemort personally became more active. He was spotted in Little Hangleton and the remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix portkeyed to the graveyard where the resurrection had taken place 5 years earlier. As the Death Eaters and Order members faced off, Harry met Voldemort for their fated battle. Unable to get any other curses to do any appreciable damage, Harry finally hit Voldemort with an avada kadavra.

As Harry dropped to the ground exhausted, Minister Fudge accompanied by a squad of aurors surrounded him "Harry Potter, you are under arrest for use of an unforgivable."

"Which one, Minister?" replied Harry

"The killing curse on Tom Riddle which was just witnessed by all here."

"Do you mind if I verify he's truly dead, never to return this time?" Harry asked.

"No. No. Go ahead. We don't want to have to deal with him again."

Harry placed his left hand on Voldemort's chest, raised his wand and shouted "Praedia Bellica". A golden glow surrounded Harry's left pinky then disappeared. "It's over. He's gone for good."

oxoxoxoxo

As Harry sat down, he began speaking to the crowd as if having a conversation after dinner instead of as final words before his execution.

"This isn't the first time I've been in this room. I watched my godfather go through the veil four years ago. You remember my godfather don't you Minister - Sirius Black?"

"Yes, he was a death eater. You-know-who's right hand man."

"Wrong. Sirius was innocent. Some 20 years ago. Voldemort was on a rampage. My godfather was supposed to be the Potter's secret keeper but convinced my parents to switch to Peter Pettigrew because as James' best friend, Sirius would be too obvious a target. The only real group fighting Voldemort was Dumbledore's Order Of The Phoenix. Unfortunately, there was a spy in the order - Peter Pettigrew.

"Peter had been a death eater passing Order information to Voldemort for over a year. When Voldemort ordered his followers to find out where Neville Longbottom and I were located, Pettigrew immediately divulged our location resulting in the trip that took place on Halloween 1981 that ended in my parents death.

"When Sirius remembered where our house was, he knew the fidelius had been broken and set out after Pettigrew finally cornering him on the street in muggle London. Peter cut off his finger, blew up the street behind him, transformed into his unregistered animagus form and dove into the sewers. He eventually ended up as a pet in a wizarding home."

"What? That's preposterous. Pettigrew was killed and presented with the Order of Merlin posthumously when he confronted Sirius Black", Fudge responded.

"Tell me Percy. You're a smart boy. How long do rats live?" Harry asked.

"Magical rats live about five years."

"Very good Weatherby. And how long did you have Scabbers? And how long did Ron have Scabbers before he disappeared?"

Percy drew himself erect "My name is Weasley, not Weatherby as you very well know. And we had Scabbers for nearly 11 years total" he trailed off.

"That's right. Eleven years. He wasn't a rat. He was an animagus. Last I heard, Peter Pettigrew was sitting in a holding cell in this building. Aurors Tonks and Shacklebolt brought him in the same day I was arrested."

"Meanwhile, Auror Cornelius Fudge arrested Sirius who was then thrown into Azkaban without being questioned nor having a trial. During one of my chats with Dumbledore during my fourth year, he showed me the trials of Barty Crouch Jr and Bellatrix Lestrange in his pensieve. During that chat, he informed me that not all the death eaters had been caught and that not all that had been caught had gone to trial, that was why he'd sent me to the Dursley's."

"And Percy, you're name isn't Weasley anymore. After the twins shop was destroyed, you went back to the Burrow. Instead of offering condolences you told your parents that if your family had disassociated themselves with me as you'd suggested the twins would still be alive. Less than a week later, Arthur called a family meeting, removed you from the family tapestry and crossed your name out of the family book. I've got that memory here. You were a power hungry fool Percy. You've had your head shoved so far up the minister's ass these past few years it's a wonder you're not seeing through Fudge's eyes. You had riches beyond measure with a family that loved you. Too bad you turned your back on them." Harry picked one of the vials out of the box and placed the memory into the pensieve to be played. It showed the discussion followed by Percy being removed from the tapestry and the book. "How many people will attend your funeral Weatherby? How many will be there to pay respects to someone they cared for and how many will be there looking to see who's back they'll need to stick a knife into now that you're gone and out of their way? Sit down and shut up. Be a man for once in your life."

Percy stood there in shock until Umbridge spoke up "He's the Minister's assistant. You can't talk to him that way!"

"Ahh, Madam Umbitch. I remember my fifth year of school very well. You know, the scars from your blood quill are still engraved on the back of my hand 'I must not tell lies.' I bet you didn't realize that by having me write that in blood it became a magically binding contract. Everything, I mean everything that I stated that year, during my trial, and what I will speak today is guaranteed to be the absolute truth and you have only yourself to credit for it. I am curious about something though. In fact, most of your students were curious about it. With all the special legislation, ministerial decrees, and your diatribes about half-breeds, we were all wondering exactly what species was in your family lines. No one looking like you could be 100 human but we weren't able to determine exactly how someone managed to reproduce with a toad. Unless you had an ancestor that was a toad animagus and got caught. Well, what are you crossed with?"

"Why I've never been so insulted in my life. It's obvious you never learned respect for your betters. Maybe Filch was right and I should have let him chain you in the Hogwarts dungeons and use a whip on you."

"Oh, I'm certain you've been insulted at least that badly before. If not, then it was only because your hearing is bad as your teaching ability was. You and Fudge are responsible for the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of people - magical and muggle - due to those various decrees that served only to alienate portions of the magical population and then by your substandard teaching that left no one with any knowledge of how to actually defend themselves and their families. Every breathe you take, every crumb you eat, is a waste of precious resources that could be used by a productive member of society. You can join Weatherby over there, I no longer wish to hear anymore of your inane ramblings."

Umbridge began spluttering and started to pull her wand when Tonks hit her with a bodybind. "This is Harry's time to talk, not yours. You had your say at his trial."

oxoxoxoxo

"Tell, me Minister. Do you know why my family was targeted that Halloween?"

"No I don't and I doubt very much you do either. But time's wasting and I'm certain we all have other things to do today" Fudge replied.

"Twenty-one years ago, Albus Dumbledore was interviewing a divination teacher for Hogwarts when she went into a trance. Sybil Trelawney gave her first true prophecy during that interview. The first two lines were overheard by a death eater who reported it back to Voldemort - 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies.' That's as much as was overheard. There were two boys born at the end of July, myself and Neville Longbottom. That's why Voldemort went to my house."

"As I look around, I don't see Rita Skeeter. I know she wouldn't be missing this." Harry dropped another memory into the pensieve. As it started playing the scene with Hermione capturing Rita and placing her into a jar, Harry called out "Your secret's out now Rita. You may as well change back. We had an agreement and I read the articles that you've written about me in the Prophet this past year. Ahh, much better. Welcome Rita. As everyone can see, she's a rather unattractive unregistered beetle animagus. So if you had any wonders how she seems to know more than she should, it's because no birds have caught up with her yet."

oxoxoxoxo

"But I'm getting off track. Following the deaths of my parents and my godfather's illegal incarceration, I was sent off to my muggle relatives to be a house-elf for the next 10 years. I never heard of magic until Hagrid brought me my Hogwarts letter and took me shopping in Diagon Alley."

Harry proceeded to tell the story of his first five years at Hogwarts. Occasionally stopping to sip some water and play some memories in the pensieve. From his first year, he showed the meeting in the forbidden forest by the dead unicorn and the final confrontation and death of Quirrell at the end of the year.

From his second year, Harry showed the scene with Dobby hovering the pudding and the owl from the ministry. He showed the memory of Lucius Malfoy slipping a diary into Ginny Weasley's books at Flourish and Bott's. He stopped the memory and told them to take a close look at the diary because they'd see it again. He played the memory of Fudge arresting Hagrid because he must be seen to be doing something. He showed Lockhart attempting to obliviate Harry and Ron, the conversation with Tom Riddle, and defeating the basilisk. He stopped the memory just before he destroyed the diary pointing out that it was the same diary Lucius Malfoy had slipped into Ginny's books. He finished with the memory of Dobby being freed and blasting Lucius down the hall.

From his third year, Harry showed the CoMC class with Draco getting scratched by Buckbeak and the arrival of the executioner at Hogwarts before the appeal had been heard. He showed the scene in the shrieking shack where Pettigrew was exposed by Sirius in front of Lupin and Snape. He quickly moved on to the events he saw at the Quidditch World Cup. He played his memory of Lucius Malfoy passing a pouch of galleons to Fudge followed by Fudge leaving with all the aurors. He then showed the death eaters attacking the muggles in the area and the dark mark in the sky.

From his fourth year, Harry showed the memory of the third task starting when he and Cedric had agreed to take the cup together. The memory ended with Dumbledore's announcement in the infirmary that Fudge had had Crouch Jr kissed without obtaining any testimony.

From his fifth year, Harry showed the memory of his first detention with Umbridge and the use of the blood quill. He also showed the confrontation in the DADA classroom where Umbridge confessed to sending the dementors and starting to cast the cruciatus curse.

oxoxoxoxo

Harry continued his narrative with the sixth year stating he had no memories from it in the box. "My sixth year saw the ousting of Fudge and the appointment of Scrimgeour as Minister. The best thing Scrimgeour did was declare the wizarding world to be in a state of war with Voldemort and his death eaters. Unfortunately, the year ended with the death of Dumbledore and the start of frequent violent confrontations with death eaters.

"My friends and I spent the past four years finding and destroying Voldemort's horcruxes and finally Voldemort himself. It was no surprise to me that I was arrested immediately after I killed Voldemort. I had expected it and had already completed most of the arrangements I needed to." Harry played the last minute of the fight with Voldemort and the casting of the final spell to verify he was gone.

"That final spell I cast was declaring myself the victor and claiming the spoils of war. Dumbledore's portrait told me it would be the only way to guarantee that Voldemort was truly gone because I would receive a family ring showing the end of the family line if it was successful."

Harry looked down at his hands and several rings appeared. "This ring signifies that I am Lord Harry James Potter with a hereditary seat in the Wizengamot and in the muggle Parliament." He set the ring down on the table and took off another.

"This ring signifies that I am the current Lord Black. Sirius told me that he and my mother had performed a blood adoption ritual after I was born. This also entitles me to a hereditary seat in the Wizengamot and the muggle Parliament." He set the ring down on the table and took off another.

"This ring signifies that I am the current head of the house of Gryffindor. It has been passed down through my father's bloodline. This ring entitles me to a seat in the Wizengamot, the Hogwarts Board of Directors, and a one-fourth ownership in Hogwarts." He set the ring down on the table and took off another.

"This ring signifies that I am the current head of the house of Ravenclaw. My maternal grandmother was found orphaned in London in 1942. Guess my mother wasn't as muggleborn as she thought. This ring entitles me to a seat in the Wizengamot, the Hogwarts Board of Directors, and a one-fourth ownership in Hogwarts." He set the ring down on the table and took off another.

"This ring was the result of claiming spoils of war over Voldemort. It subjugates the house of Slytherin. This ring entitles me to a seat in the Wizengamot, the Hogwarts Board of Directors, and a one-fourth ownership in Hogwarts." He set the ring down on the table and took off another.

"This ring was the result of claiming spoils of war over House Lestrange when I killed Bellatrix. It subjugates the house of Lestrange and entitles me to a seat in the Wizengamot." He set the ring down on the table and took off another.

"This ring was the result of claiming spoils of war over House Malfoy when I killed Lucius. It subjugates the house of Malfoy and entitles me to a seat in the Wizengamot." He set the ring down on the table.

"Seven seats in the Wizengamot, three seats on the Hogwarts Board of Directors, three quarters ownership of Hogwarts castle. Not once in the four years since I began wearing my family ring was I notified of any meetings of the Wizengamot. Not once was I notified of any legislation that I may have had an interest in. I found out about them by reading the Prophet after the fact. Who was responsible for sending out those notifications? The Minister and his assistants."

By then, Fudge, Umbridge, and Weatherby were livid but the crowd seated on the benches may have been just as angry as they saw everything their leaders had done.

oxoxoxoxo

Harry continued "My sentence includes forfeiture of all lands, properties, and monies. The goblins are excellent bankers and extraordinary record keepers. This parchment documents each of the ministerial decrees that were used in attempts by Fudge, Umbridge, and Lucius Malfoy to access my trust vault during my 10 years of exile with the Dursley's. It also shows each of the attempts made to access Sirius Black's personal vault while he was in Azkaban. It must have been frustrating when the goblins said they'd be happy to turn over his funds just as soon as a written transcript of his trial and conviction was provided. As soon as I was able, my monies were moved into the various family vaults in Gringott's. By Gringott's charter and the treaties with the goblin nations only after no one from my bloodline has requested access to those vaults for 2000 years will they be able to be opened by the ministry. Good luck taking my money. You'll have to rebuild using ministry funds plus what you've managed to steal and squirrel away over the years."

"My lands and properties -- ALL my lands and properties, including those I claimed as Spoils of War were sealed with family blood wards this morning. Minister, goblin records showed that you moved into one of the smaller Malfoy properties less than a year after Lucius was released by his good friend Cornelius Fudge who declared him to have been under the imperious and not really a death eater. Gringott's was unable to find anything that showed an actual transfer of title to that property. In fact, the deed to that property was found in one of the Malfoy vaults. I really hope you didn't have anything important there because you won't be able to get back in."

Harry put the rings back on his fingers, placed the memory vials back into the box, and stood up.

"The bigotry and prejudice the various species found in magical Britain show towards one another will be your downfall. The hatred shown towards other groups based on bloodlines will result in the disappearance of magical peoples everywhere. You have to have the muggleborn in order to strengthen the bloodlines. You have to have the ideas of the muggleborn in order to advance society. You've spent almost one hundred years following or fighting one of two sociopaths, Grindelwald and Voldemort, neither of whom wanted anything more than power and were willing to do most anything to obtain it."

"To the wizarding public I leave you with the knowledge that Voldemort should have never been able to rise to the power that he did. He was only able to do so because he was able to work with a ministry that was corrupt at the top with no checks and balances on the minister's power and influence. Influence that was for sale to the highest bidder. In a perfect world, there would have been no Voldemort. In a fair world, Voldemort would have attempted to rise and would have been stopped by the ministry and its aurors. Unfortunately, we don't live in either. You will have to rebuild the wizarding world without the Potter money and properties. Perhaps the farce of a trial I had will force some of you to rethink your position. Perhaps this will force you to try and keep some of the muggleborn as productive members of the wizarding world. I've found that over 90 of all muggleborns return back to the muggle world within two years of leaving Hogwarts because you've made no place for them. No positions in the ministry. No representation on the Wizengamot. Minimum wage earning jobs in your shops and stores. I hope that when the next time for elections comes, you'll make the changes you need to and elect a less biased government. You have to decide - Are you going to do what is right or what is easy?"

Harry then turned towards the veil and shook the chains off his wrists. As he reached the top step, the veil billowed out like a curtain with a breeze behind it, Harry waved his hand, stepped forward and disappeared.

oxoxoxoxo

With a small pop, Harry appeared on Black's Island with Dobby holding his hand. "Thanks Dobby, I hope it wasn't difficult for you to spend that long by the veil."

"No, Master Harry Potter sir. Dobby was glad to help."

With that Harry yelled out "Honey, I'm home!"


End file.
